Generous hosts: PCB offers to cover Zimbabwe’s expenses

Lahore may host all the matches as visitors are hesitant about playing in Karachi.

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will cover the entire cost incurred by the Zimbabwe side when they travel to Pakistan in May, becoming the first Test team to play in the country after six years.

International cricket has remained suspended in Pakistan after an armed attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009 in Lahore. Though the PCB has hosted Associate nations Afghanistan and Kenya, it did not make the impact the board had wanted to break the ice.

Head coach Waqar Younis and senior players Younus Khan, Shahid Afridi and Misbahul Haq have repeatedly urged the international cricket fraternity to help Pakistan play at home as they feel it is really important for the survival of cricket in Pakistan.

The PCB has put forward the proposal that Zimbabwe will not have to pay a single penny from their own pocket and all expenses will be met by the home board.

“There is not truth that Zimbabwe are asking for  50%  profit from us, instead the board will cover all the expenses of the proposed tour,” a senior PCB official told The Express Tribune. “We’ve told our counterparts that we would pay the match-fee and the daily allowances as well. As far as their demands of a series in Zimbabwe in August are concerned, there hasn’t been any development on that front. Right now we’re just focused on hosting them in May.”

The tour is yet to materialise officially but there have been significant progress between the PCB and the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU), who have assured Pakistan they want to come and play in the country but still await clearance from their security delegation.

Zimbabwe’s security delegation is expected to come sometime next week and will visit Lahore and Karachi — the two cities where the PCB wants to host the matches.

“Right now Zimbabwe have shown reservations about playing in Karachi but we’re trying to convince them to play there as well,” added the official. “We’ll bring their security team for a visit to Karachi and then they will decide whether to play in the city or not.”

The PCB has also been trying to get the Southend Club in Karachi approved to host a match. “The board has applied for the Southend Club to host matches in Karachi but we’ve not got the approval so far,” revealed the official. “We are doing that since the National Stadium of Karachi is a bit further away from the proposed team hotel than what we would have liked.”

Initially, the PCB wanted to play a five-match ODI series with three being played in Lahore and two in Karachi. However, as things stand, the two teams will play three one-dayers and two T20Is.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2015.

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